Infant&#39;s bottle holder



INFANT S BOTTLE HOLDER Filed Aug. 25, 1958 'mm- Y l Mafwww A; ATToRNEYs.

Patented Oct. 15, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT ,OFFICE INFANTS BOTTLE HOLDER Ray H. Elliott, Pittsburgh, Pa. Y Application August 25, 1938, Serial No. 226,724

4 Claims.

This invention relates to holders for detachably clamping articles in position, and more particularly to nursing bottle holders.

Various attempts have 'been made to provide 5 means for holding a nursing bottle in feeding position for an infant, but the devices proposed for this purpose have generally been cumbersome, expensive or undesirably difficult to attach to a support and adjust. Some of them cannot be depended upon to securely hold a bottle, while others cannot be connected to a support, such as a babys crib, without marring it.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a holder, especially suitable for nursing bottles, which is of simple and relatively inexpensive construction, which can be readily applied to and removed from a support without marring the support, which is easily adjusted to various positions, and which clamps bottles securely in position.

In accordance with this invention a length of spring wire is doubled on itself to form two spaced arms the free ends of which are connected to a supporting member. The opposite end portions of the arms are crossed to form an eX- pansible loop for receiving and detachably clamping an article, such as a nursing bottle, therein. The loop preferably projects laterally from the arms and is expanded by pressing the arms toward each other. The supporting member is most suitably a spring clamp, and the free ends of the spring arms are connected to it through a plate or equivalent element which is pivotally connected to the clamp so that the position of the spring loop can be adjusted for properly positioning the article that it carries. 'I'he plate is locked in any desired adjusted position by any suitable means.

40 The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my bottle holder shown supported by the side rail of a babys crib; Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the holder as viewed from one end of the spring clamp; and Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of the holder showing the clamp in elevation.

Referring to the drawing, a suitable length of spring wire of suiiicient gage to permit it to support a nursing bottle or the like is doubled on itself to form a pair of normally spaced arms I. As shown in Fig. 2, the upper or free ends of these arms are bent at an oblique angle so that the arms will extend downwardly at an angle,

and are connected to suitable supporting means presently to be described. The end portions of the arms opposite to their free ends are, of course, integrally connected, and are also crossed to form a loop v2 which is preferably substantially circular when expanded sufficiently to accommo- 5 date the average nursing bottle; .This loop projects laterally from the spring arms so`that it can holdV a nursing bottle 3 in feeding position for an infant when the holder .is attached to the side of a crib or the like (Fig. 1).. l0

The means by which the spring karms are adapted to be connected to a support comprises a spring clamp 6 which can be readily attached to or removed from the top side rail 'I of a babys crib or other suitable support. An inexpensive 15 but effective spring clamp satisfactory for this purpose is the ordinary well known type of paper clamp shown in the drawing. Such a clamp has a pair of plate-like jaws 8 biased toward each other by cylindrical spring lclips 9 and opened 20 by pinching together upright ears II integrally connected thereto. Such a clamp can be quickly and easily applied to supporting members of different sizes and shapes without having to adjust it, and its flat jaws of relatively large area 25 Agrip the support without injuring it.

placed in the most suitable position for the baby. 3d

Accordingly, the free ends of the spring arms are connected to a plate I2 or the like pivotally mounted on the spring clamp. The obliquely bent upper ends of the arms are most suitably inserted in holes through the opposite ends of 35 the plate and are secured therein by means of nuts I3 threaded on the ends of the wire (Fig. 2). Plate I2 isA pivotally mounted on a bolt I4 secured in one of the clamp ears II and projecting laterally therefrom. By rotating this plate 40 on bolt I4, loop 2 can be swung in an arcuate path that permits considerable adjustment of the position of the bottle. When the desired adjustment has been made, plate I2 is locked in that position by wing nut I6 threaded on bolt I4. 5 In some locations when pivot plate I2 will not permit the particular adjustment desired, the position of the spring loop can be further altered by loosening nuts I3, turning arms I therein as indicated in Fig. 3, and then tightening the nuts. 50

The spring loop is expanded for receiving a nursing bottle by gripping arms I in the hand and pressing them together. As the arms are crossed at their lower ends, this causes the loop to open wider, as indicated by broken lines in 55 Fig. 2. Release of the arms permits the loop to contract, whereby the bottle is clamped Within it. The vertical position of the bottle can be adjusted by merely sliding it up or down in the spring loop.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and construction of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I-desire to have it understood that,'within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

l. A bottle holder comprising a spring wire` doubled on itself to form two arms'.'a spring clamping member, means pivotally cori'n'ectedfto said member, and means for pivotally connecting the free ends of said arms to the opposite ends of said pivotal means,'the .end portionsfof the arms opposite to their vfree endsl being crossed` to form an eXpansibleloop-for receiving yand detachably clampingk a bottle therein,. said loop being expanded by squeezing said armstogether.

2. A bottle holdercomprising a spring wire doubled on itself to form` two arms,; a spring clamping membera plate pivotally mounted on one side of said member, means for locking said plate in adjustedposition, the ends of the plate being perforated for receiving the free ends of said arms, and nuts threaded on said free ends for connecting them to the plate, the opposite end portions of the arms being crossed to form an expansible loop for receiving and detachably clamping a bottle therein, said loop being expanded by squeezing said arms together.

3. A bottle holder comprising a spring wire doubled on itself to form two arms, a spring clamp adapted to be detachably connected to a support, a bolt projecting laterally from said clamp, a plate pivotally mounted ,on the bolt, a nut for holding the plate on the bolt, the ends of the plate being perforated for receiving the free ends of said arms and means for connecting the free ends of said arms to the plate, the opposite end portions of said arms being crossed to form an expansible loop for receiving and detachably clamping la bottle therein, said loop projecting laterally from said arms, said loop being expanded by squeezing said arms together.

4. `A'Kbottle holder4 comprising a spring Wire doubled on itself to form two arms, a clamping member operatively connected to the free ends of said arms, the opposite end portions of said armsbeing crossed and-freely slidable upon each other to form an; expansible, loop for encircling and detachably grippingthe body of a bottle therein, and said loop projecting laterallyfrom said arms-and being expanded by squeezing said arms together.

, RAY H. ELLIO'IT. 

